Information Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Fri. Jan. 23, 2026: After a long time of commanding performances that formed trendy Black cinema, Caribbean roots, British-born actor Delroy Lindo has lastly crossed a milestone many imagine was lengthy overdue: his first Academy Award nomination.
The London-born, Jamaican-rooted actor, 73, earned a Greatest Supporting Actor nomination on the 98th Academy Awards for his position as Delta Slim in Sinners, the genre-blending vampire thriller directed by Ryan Coogler. The nod marks a long-awaited recognition for an artist whose profession has been constantly lauded by critics, but repeatedly missed by awards our bodies.
For Caribbean audiences and the worldwide diaspora, Lindo’s nomination resonates far past Hollywood. Born in Lewisham, London, to Jamaican mother and father who had been a part of the Windrush technology, Lindo’s life mirrors a transatlantic Caribbean journey – shifting from the UK to Canada as a teen, then to the USA, the place he educated on the American Conservatory Theater and cast a profession that may span stage, movie, and tv.
His mom was a nurse who struggled as an outsider in England however instilled a robust sense of heritage in her son, whereas his father held numerous jobs, contributing to the household’s cultural background. Lindo has stated previously that he felt like an outsider as the one Black baby in his faculty, however was impressed to behave after a faculty play. He deeply connects along with his Jamaican roots, viewing his mother and father’ emphasis on presentation as a key a part of his heritage, a theme echoed in his work.
Lindo has beforehand discovered himself in awards-season conversations for iconic roles, together with West Indian Archie in Spike Lee’s Malcolm X and his searing efficiency in Da 5 Bloods. However when nominations did not materialize, he intentionally resisted expectation. “I strive to not purchase into that,” he instructed Leisure Weekly final yr, reflecting on previous snubs. Nonetheless, he admitted that the absence of recognition was painful. “I used to be profoundly disillusioned, frankly.”
That disappointment didn’t derail him. As an alternative, Lindo stored working – on his personal phrases.
In Sinners, he delivers a efficiency critics describe as hypnotic. Taking part in Delta Slim, a Mississippi bluesman whose music anchors a juke joint that turns into the goal of supernatural forces, Lindo brings gravitas, restraint, and lived-in knowledge to the display. Coogler has praised the efficiency as “unbelievable,” noting what Lindo delivered to the position each single day on set.
Audiences agreed. Sinners boasts a 97% crucial score and 96% viewers rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and its international field workplace haul of roughly $368 million made it one of many yr’s most profitable authentic movies. The film shattered awards information with 16 Oscar nominations, changing into the most-nominated movie in Academy historical past.
For Lindo, the popularity arrives not as validation, however as affirmation. “To have been working as an actor for the size of time that I’ve… the truth that audiences nonetheless apparently discover what I’m doing fascinating – that’s not a given,” he stated. “I don’t take any of it with no consideration.”
His Caribbean roots proceed to tell his artistic route. Lindo has lengthy spoken in regards to the affect of his Jamaican heritage and the Windrush expertise, which he’s now exploring in a forthcoming memoir scheduled for launch in 2027. He’s additionally growing and directing a characteristic movie set in Jamaica’s Blue Mountains, centered on spirituality, therapeutic, and the ability of group – themes deeply rooted in Caribbean tradition.
Lindo solely instructed E! Information that his son Damiri was the one to inform him he obtained his first-ever Oscar nomination for the 2026 ceremony. “I used to be in mattress,” he recalled to E!. “My cellphone rang. It was my son. I picked it up and stated, ‘Hey man,’ and he stated, ‘Dad, dad, you bought it. You bought that s–t.’”
“It means the world as a result of he’s seen all of it,” Lindo was quoted as saying. “He’s seen it away from the purple carpet. He’s seen either side of it. So, together with my spouse, they’ve the interior and the exterior perspective on this journey. It felt utterly proper on to obtain this information from my son.”
Lindo faces off in opposition to Jacob Elordi (Frankenstein), Stellan Skarsgård (Sentimental Worth), Benicio Del Toro (One Battle After One other) and Sean Penn (One Battle After One other) in his class.
However, nonetheless, it seems, Lindo instructed E!: “It’s simply extremely joyful and affirming. Affirming that audiences inside and outdoors of the business have responded to this work so absolutely, and the truth that the work has touched individuals, I imagine, within the depth of their humanity. I don’t have the phrases to clarify how gratifying and affirming that feels. It’s extraordinary.”
For a lot of within the Caribbean diaspora, the second already carries that means: a son of Jamaican immigrants, whose artistry endured a long time of business blind spots, lastly standing the place historical past says he at all times belonged.
The Academy Awards, hosted by Conan O’Brien, air Sunday, March 15, 2026, on ABC.
Source link
